Young Liverpool thwarted by West Ham in second Wembley quest

ANFIELD: Liverpool’s pursuit of a second Wembley Cup final appearance stalled at Anfield on Saturday as Juergen Klopp’s second-string side had to settle for an undistinguished goalless draw with West Ham United in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Four days after reaching the League Cup final with their penalty shootout win over Stoke City, Klopp, no fan of English football’s congested fixture lists, opted to trust his youngsters as he made 10 changes to the team that played 120 minutes on Tuesday.

His faith was only partially rewarded with his young side creating enough chances to earn victory after a dour first half but lacking the cutting edge up front to avoid yet another fixture, an unwanted and difficult replay at Upton Park.

West Ham were, though, indebted to their goalkeeper Darren Randolph, who made fine stops from Cameron Brannagan, Joao Teixeira and Christian Benteke.